Oral history interview with Millard G. Gamble
- 2002-Jul-17
Oral history interview with Millard G. Gamble
- 2002-Jul-17
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.Millard G. Gamble capped his thirty-nine year career in sales and marketing of fibers at E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company as the vice president of the Textile Fibers Department. Gamble begins the interview by discussing his family life and education as an undergraduate at Wesleyan University. He talks about his post-graduation experiences working for the United States Department of Agriculture and as an officer with the United States Navy. Gamble reflects on joining Du Pont in 1945 and his sales experience in the Rayon [later named Textile Fibers] Department. Gamble was moved to various marketing and manufacturing jobs before becoming the director of the industrial marketing division and eventually the general director of marketing divisions. He elaborates on a number of contributions that the Textile Fibers Department made to the Du Pont Company and discusses the development of various fibers. He also talks about the influence of several leaders in the Textile Fibers Department. Gamble's final years at Du Pont were spent as the general manager for textile fibers, where he was responsible for developing worldwide apparel and home fabrics. He became the vice president of the Textile Fibers Department in 1983 and then retired in 1984.
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About the Interviewer
Arnold Thackray founded the Chemical Heritage Foundation and served the organization as president for 25 years. He is currently CHF’s chancellor. Thackray received MA and PhD degrees in history of science from Cambridge University. He has held appointments at Cambridge, Oxford University, and Harvard University, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1983 Thackray received the Dexter Award from the American Chemical Society for outstanding contributions to the history of chemistry. He served for more than a quarter century on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the founding chairman of the Department of History and Sociology of Science and is currently the Joseph Priestley Professor Emeritus.
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| Oral history number | 0304 |
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Interviewee biographical information
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Education
| Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Wesleyan University (Middletown, Conn.) | BA | Social Science |
Professional Experience
United States. Navy
- 1941 to 1945 Resigned as Lieutenant Commander
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company
- 1945 Rayon Department
- 1946 to 1947 Rayon Filament Salesman, Charlotte, North Carolina
- 1948 Rayon Staple Salesman, Charlotte, North Carolina
- 1949 Northeast Sales Representative, Providence, Rhode Island
- 1950 Assistant Manager of Cordura® Rayon Industrial Yarn
- 1951 to 1952 Manager of Cordura® Rayon Industrial Yarn
- 1953 Manufacturing Supervisor in training, Seaford Nylon plant
- 1954 Assistant Sales Manager of Acetate, Wilmington, Delaware
- 1954 Assistant Sales Manager of Nylon, Wilmington, Delaware
- 1956 to 1959 Regional Sales Manager, Charlotte, North Carolina
- 1959 to 1961 Director, Industrial Marketing Division
- 1961 Director, Marketing Services for Apparel and Home Furnishings
- 1962 to 1965 Assistant Director, Marketing Divisions
- 1965 to 1969 General Director of Marketing, Textile Fibers Department
- 1969 to 1972 Director, Spunbonded Products, Nomex® Division
- 1972 General Director, Marketing Divisions
- 1973 to 1983 Assistant General Manager, Textile Fibers Department
- 1983 to 1984 Vice President, Textile Fibers Department
Honors
| Year(s) | Award |
|---|---|
| Member and former President, Board of Governors, Wilmington Club | |
| 1986 | Elected Trustee, Winterthur Museum, Garden ,and Library |
| 1991 | Elected Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees, Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library |
| 2001 | Elected Honorary Trustee, Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library |
| 2016 | Member and former President, Board of Directors, Wilmington Country Club |
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Complete transcript of interview
The published version of the transcript may diverge from the interview audio due to edits to the transcript made by staff of the Center for Oral History, often at the request of the interviewee, during the transcript review process.